"One of the things I always do in my Windows Mobile phone is viewing documents (Word and Excel) and websites in landscape mode. When Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition was introduced in 2004, one of the improvements is to let the user manually change the screen orientation by going to the Screen section of the device’s Settings menu. That change made me happy when I shifted to a WM 2003 SE device where I access Word and Excel documents and browse websites for a wider view.

Four years later, I found myself owning an HTC Touch Diamond, as well as using a demo unit of the newer HTC Touch Diamond 2. These two, and other high-end phones from HTC have built-in accelerometers that automatically change the screen orientation while the HTC photo album or Opera mobile web browser is open. The rest of the applications, cannot."

What Were They thinking?

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But the thing about accelerotmeters is that it can be pretty annoying if the darn thing keeps on changing because it senses some change in orientation when in fact, you are and your device are still in the right orientation.

For example. Let's say you are lying down in bed and you decide to shift to your side instead of lying on your back. Wow... now the unit senses a change in orientation when you have not changed your orientation with the unit relatively speaking. Now that is the annoying part.

Next, they make it more complicated where you get to choose which apps get automatically rotated and which don't (as in the case of the DX 900). For me, while the novelty of having an accelerometer equipped unit can be cool. I'd like to rely on pure simple controls. Click a button and it goes landscape. Click it again and it goes back to portrait.

Windows Media Player Mobile actually got it right already... It gives you the option to play movies in full screen landscape mode without the use of any accelerometers. It's simply a preset choice. Now it would be nice if this can be incorporated with Internet Explorer Mobile or any of the Office applications. There are some things that just are a pain to work with in portrait mode. So why not make them launch using a default user setting instead?

Auto only mode is like being handed a beginners' point and shoot camera. If you're a heavy user, you usually have an idea of how you want to use it. I simply don't like it when the unit has to tell me what to do. I would rather be the one telling the device what to do to for my advantage._________________Carlo Ma. Guerrero

Auto only mode is like being handed a beginners' point and shoot camera. If you're a heavy user, you usually have an idea of how you want to use it. I simply don't like it when the unit has to tell me what to do. I would rather be the one telling the device what to do to for my advantage.

Voice command to rotate?

Pretty annoying when you discover that the accelerometer is not integrated to some applications when it's needed

Hahaha! Yeah that may be a solution but the delay of about 3 seconds to activate Voice Command and about another 2 seconds to say it and get recognized isn't the quickest thing on earth. IMHO, I would still say a dedicated hardware button is the best solution._________________Carlo Ma. Guerrero

I used GSEN for my HTC Touch HD. You can toggle it ON or OFF.
When it is ON and you use Opera, it will make Opera upside-down when you go landscape.

The accelerometer works great with Need for speed. driving by titlting your device, just like driving a car... you will just look silly. _________________Get Sync!
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Chris Paulin
Visit my blog @ http://c2jnet.blogspot.com/

Hahaha! Yeah that may be a solution but the delay of about 3 seconds to activate Voice Command and about another 2 seconds to say it and get recognized isn't the quickest thing on earth. IMHO, I would still say a dedicated hardware button is the best solution.

yes, i remember one device that has this. HP Ipaq Business Navigator 610c. it has a landscape/portarit key at the lower left portion of the keypad lay out.

i just dumped mine after a week of use because typing in a non-QWERTY keypad is just a sore. i am such a classic, regular typist. _________________"I'm a devil on the run... a six gun lover... a no one's son... a candle in the wind."